LeBron James to Opt Out of Final Two Years of Contract With Heat

LeBron James was a free agent when he signed a six-year contract worth about $110 million with the Miami Heat in 2010 and won two championships in four seasons in Miami. Photographer: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

June 24 (Bloomberg) -- LeBron James will opt out of the
final two years of his contract with the Miami Heat, making him
a free agent after leading the franchise to four straight finals
appearances.

Heat President Pat Riley said he was informed today of the
10-time All-Star’s intentions.

“We fully expected LeBron to opt-out and exercise his free
agent rights, so this does not come as a surprise,” Riley said
in a statement. “We look forward to sitting down with LeBron
and his representatives and talking about our future together.”

Opting out doesn’t preclude a player from re-signing with
his team. For Miami, it would give the team flexibility under
the National Basketball Association’s salary limit.

James, 29, was a free agent when he signed a six-year
contract worth about $110 million with the Heat in 2010 and won
two championships in four seasons in Miami. James was set to
make $20.5 million and $22.1 million the next two seasons.

The NBA’s free agent period begins July 1.

James could get a new five-year contract from the Heat
worth about $129 million as a free agent. He’d take a pay cut by
playing elsewhere, as the maximum he could get from another team
is $95.8 million over four seasons. The Heat would have to agree
to a sign-and-trade deal for James to get maximum money from
another franchise.

After the Heat lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA
Finals, ending their two-year reign as champions, James said he
needed some time before making a decision about his contract.

Historic Seasons

Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh could also opt out of
their contracts and test the free-agent market. Both had at
least $40 million left on their contracts the next two years.

“The last four seasons have been historic and LeBron
James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Erik Spoelstra have led the
Miami Heat to one of the most unprecedented runs in the history
of the NBA,” Riley said of the team’s three highest-paid
players and its coach.

The Heat have been listed as a 1-6 favorite to bring James
back next season, according to online sports book Bovada.lv. The
Cleveland Cavaliers, with whom James spent his first seven NBA
seasons, were next at 6-1. The Houston Rockets had 10-1 of being
James’s next team, followed by the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles
Clippers at 15-1 and the Los Angeles Lakers at 20-1.

A major question looming for James may be whether the Heat
are able to surround him with enough talent to compete for
another championship. Miami’s bench was outscored by more than
16 points a game in the NBA Finals, when the Heat were outscored
by a total of 70 points in the series, the largest point
differential in league history.